ABSTRACT
Many decisions about the sound track are made during the rough cut. The first steps toward creating a sense of believability are taken then. However, that believability must be enhanced and amplified. In the final phase of sound editing, the punctuation of dramatic and narrative elements is central. During the rough edit, a meaning was established, and it has been corroborated visually and aurally. The sound editor’s task is to punctuate that meaning during the final stage of the editing process. The goal may be to establish without question a specific point in the scene, or it may be to emphasize the ambiguity of the scene through the addition of a particular sound. The process of amplification can expand the realism of the film to embrace emotional as well as physical realism, or it can alter the meaning of the visuals to suit the intended vision.
